Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . as a lack of affect infects BOTH of his indistinguishable characterizations in THE SCAPEGOAT. "John" is plagued by boredom, and "The Count" suffers from ennui, which hardly makes for a riveting picture. Apparently "Bela" (the Count's mistress) can tell them apart because one of these johns is cut, but Bela's off-screen discovery does nothing to help viewers distinguish between two of the most phlegmatic personages ever expected to carry a plot. At least REBECCA kept us guessing until the end as to whether it was Col. Mustard in the boathouse with a sea anchor or Elvira Gulch in the attic with her candlestick. But since MGM's trailer for the Picturization of Daphne the Muddier's later pin-the-tail-on-the-scapegoat novel contends that this yarn "is Twice as Exciting on the screen" as it is in the book, viewers are likely to rush out of Revival Theater Showings eager to ditch any unread Book-of-the-Month Club copies of THE SCAPEGOAT in their nearest Goodwill Recycling Bin.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** Off the wall but at the same time interesting story about this French/English teacher John Barratt, Alec Guinness, on a vacation in French-just checking out the sites-runs into his double Franch nobleman Jacques De Gue, also played by Guinness, who seems to take a shine to him. Not that George looks just like him but that he want's him to impersonate him while-from what I can see-going on a two month hunting and fishing vacation as well as trying to locate and photograph "Big Foot" in the great Canadian North-West.Getting John drunk and leaving him alone in a hotel room he got for him Jacques checks out and leave the poor and confused John even more confused to face life as Jacques De Gue on his own. Driven to his château in the French countryside by his loyal chauffeur as well as shoeshine boy Gaston, Geoffrey Keen, as hard as John tries to convince his new found family that he isn't Jacques they refuse to believe him even having the family doctor Aloin, Noel Howlett, declare him to be suffering from schizophrenia! Finally accepting his fate as being a rich French nobleman with all the money and fixing that goes along with it John soon finds out that his mom the Countess, Bette Davis, is a morphine junkie and his wife Francoise, Irene Worth, is suspicious that he whats to have her knocked off in order to get his hands on her money. On top of all that his or better yet his wife's glass factory is on the verge of bankruptcy which he doesn't help by him promising the workers there a hefty raise in their next contract.***SPOILERS*** All this confusion soon comes together when Francoise is thrown to her death out of her two story bedroom window at the château with John herd but not seen arguing with her before her death just moments before it happened by his sister Blanche,Palela Brown,who overheard the conversation. It now becomes apparent that the missing Jacques was behind his wife's murder and used the totally out of touch Jack who was nowhere near the murder scene and had proof of having driven with Gaston down to the town of Villars to go sightseeing at the time of the murder! The ending is a bit crazy with, this by now is getting so confusing, Jacques now coming out of the shadows trying to reclaim his identity from John who's, by having a taste of the good life, now not at all willing to give it up. P.S The only way were able to destinies between the two John & Jacques at the final moment of the movie is a bandage or dressing covering the right hand of one of them that if you blinked or fell asleep by then you'll miss it!

l_rawjalaurence Based on a Daphne du Maurier source-text, THE SCAPEGOAT is very much in the tradition established by Hamer's more famous earlier film KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), also starring Guinness. In this film Guinness plays two roles; that of a mild-mannered university teacher whose identity is stolen by a rakish French aristocrat. The university teacher takes over the aristocrat's life, and proves rather good at it; so much so that he does not want to recover his old life when the aristocrat asks him to. The climax is a violent one. Hamer's film, although set in France, takes a particularly English approach to death; the performances are quietly understated, and the atmosphere of menace restrained. Bette Davis seems rather out of place in a cameo role as the aristocrat's mother; her grande dame performance, complete with rolling New England vowels, contrasts starkly with that of Guinness. The ending is a bit peremptory, betraying the fact that THE SCAPEGOAT was not without its production difficulties, especially when scriptwriter Gore Vidal had to deal with an increasingly alcoholic director. Nonetheless THE SCAPEGOAT is definitely worth a view, if only for Guinness' versatility as an actor.

whpratt1 Glad I finally was able to see this great film from 1959 with a great performance by Alex Guinness, (John Braratt/DeGue) who plays a duel role and is completely outstanding in his great acting abilities. Betty Davis, (Countess) gives a great supporting role and from what I had read, Davis & Guinness did not get along very well during the filming of this film. John Braratt is a professor of French who teaches at a college and runs into a man who looks exactly like him and this other man, DeGue drugs Braratt and leaves him in a hotel with all his passports and clothing. John Braratt gets all caught up in DeGue's family involving a wife, daughter, sister-in-law and his mistress. As the film progresses forward he seems to be enjoying his new role. Great acting and a must see film.